A Turbanned Man And An Alien Giant

Every railway station and corner newspaper stall would display the toilet roll thin paper illustrated in bright splotchy colours and depicting the adventures of a handlebar-whiskered, nest-size-turbanned man* and his gold-hoop-eared, black shorts and boots-clad bald alien friend**.

Chunnu padhta Daaimundd ko-mix
Munni padhti Daaimundd ko-mix
Mazedaar hai Daaimundd ko-mix
Sabko bhata Daaimundd ko-mix

A giant from Jupiter

* Chacha Chaudhary’s mind works faster than a computer!
** Jab Saboo ko gussa aata hai to Jupiter pe jwala phathte hain!

My parents feared that the deadly language of Diamond comics, liberally garnished with spelling errors and grammatical errors would ruin my English so no Diamond comics ever featured on the monthly reading purchases.

Yet, I have a faint recollection of owning at least one copy of Chacha Chaudhary…a story about his trip abroad and bringing back bell-bottoms for the plump Chachi. I remember wondering what bell bottoms were and imagining little bells sewn on the bottom hem of trousers. I know that I have never read a single Pinky or Billoo or any of the other beauties from the Diamond Comics stable.

I also remember surreptitiously reading them at friends’ houses while they tried to interest me in such exciting adventures as Hide-and-Seek and Langdi. I have a vague memory of whizzing through these comics at bookstores and libraries…probably my first experience with speed-reading. Forbidden fruit can do wonders for a child’s curiosity.

Certainly, there were Tinkle and Champak and Gokulam and Target (in the later years)….but nothing matches the lure of something that was so much desired and never attained.

I don’t know if Diamond comics is still publishing and if so, where I could pick up a copy but I am delighted to discover that more than two decades later, my curiosity ixs about to be sated…I’ve discovered Diamond comics homepage.

*Sigh* My incomplete education is about to be complete!

Chacha Chaudhary